The British diver who first found the 12 boys trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand has rejected being called a 'hero', as it is revealed the young football team had only planned to explore the system for an hour.

The children, who remain in hospital, reportedly told their parents that they had barely begun their trek when flooding suddenly blocked their exit, forcing them further into the Luang Nang Non Cave in Chiang Rai.

They ended up stranded on a ledge in the darkness for nine days before they were found by two British divers Rick Stanton and John Volanthen, on July 2.

Playing down suggestions he and his colleagues were 'heroes', Mr Stanton spoke of his relief when they found the boys and their football coach.

A reluctant hero returns: Diver Rick Stanton who helped to save 12 schoolboys and their football coach from a flooded cave in Thailand, arrives back at London's Heathrow Airport

Mr Stanton, from Coventry, returned to the UK on Friday morning along with some of the other British divers who took part in the search and rescue mission.

'Initially, of course, excitement, relief that they were still alive. As they were coming down the slope, we were counting them until we got to 13 ... unbelievable,' he said.

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'We gave them a little bit of extra light, they still had light, they looked in good health.

'Then, of course, when we departed, all we could think about was how we were going to get them out.

'So there was relief, tempered with uncertainty.'

Longer than planned: The 12 youth football players reportedly told their parents that they had only planned on checking out the Luang Nang Non Cave for an hour

Rescuer: Rick Stanton, who was the first diver to reach the group along with his colleague, John Volanthen, has today spoken of his relief when he found them all alive

Recovering: The 12 children and their coach are in an isolation unit at a hospital in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand, and are reportedly making a swift recovery

The team then launched a mission to rescue the boys and their 25-year-old coach, which concluded on Tuesday after an 18-day ordeal.

The operation claimed the life of Thai navy diver Saman Kunan, who died while replenishing oxygen canisters.

The rescue was particularly treacherous because the boys, aged 11 to 16, had to swim through tight spaces despite having no previous diving experience.

Speaking on his return to the UK, Mr Stanton said: 'Are we heroes? No, we were just using a very unique skill set, which we normally use for our own interests and sometimes we are able to use that and give something back to the community.

'This was completely uncharted, unprecedented territory and nothing like this has been done. So, of course there were doubts.

'I knew that we had a good team, with good support from the Thai authorities, the caving community and rescue organisations, so we had the best we could do to make a plan work.'

Coming out: One of the Wild Boar FC players is seen being moved on a stretcher during the three-day rescue operation to get the children out of the cave

Video footage shows a complex operation with numerous divers and rescue workers using pulleys, ropes and rubber piping to haul the children to safety

Another part of the video shows the team carrying one of the boys while the pipes used to pump out water are seen in the background

The daring British divers who played key roles in saving the 12 young boys and their coach last night rejected suggestions that they are heroes who should be knighted

Mr Stanton would not describe how his team rescued the children, saying it was 'too detailed for this point in time'.

'The most important thing to have was a full face mask which had been applied inside with positive pressure to enable them to breathe and to be relaxed enough so not to feel any anxiety during the process,' he said.

'There was a lot of chaos but we were so task-orientated, focused, and we blanked that out and carried on with the job in hand, step by step, until we achieved success.'

During a press conference at Heathrow Airport, Mr Stanton declined to answer any medical questions but said: 'They were carefully handled.

'There is a lot of responsibility, that is all I am prepared to say ... There is a lot of responsibility that an experienced diver could handle.'

As well as Mr Stanton, fellow divers Chris Jewell and Connor Roe, both from Somerset; Josh Bratchley, from Devon; Jim Warny, from Co Clare, Ireland; Mike Clayton, from Yorkshire; and Gary Mitchell, from Wales, returned to the UK on Friday.

Mr Jewell said: 'Our role was to help transport the boys under water through the cave to bring them out.

'The diving conditions were extremely challenging, there was poor visibility and responsibility for another human being's life.

'It was a successful outcome and we played a part in an international effort.'

Mr Jewell said it was very hard to judge how close it came to being a very different outcome.

'The Thai authorities took a lot of steps to divert rivers on the mountain top which we believe bought us as lot of time to get this outcome,' he said.